Are there common specific patterns in the Tense-Mood-Aspect systems of Creoles? Do Creoles constitute a structural type of language? This in-depth synchronic description of the Tense-Mood-Aspect system of contemporary Hawai'i Creole English, is a language-internal analysis based on extensive first-hand data, both written and spoken. The language variety has been used as a basis for major linguistic hypotheses - a strength of this book is the use of a language-independent typological framework, placing the system in a cross-linguistic perspective.

Contents Introduction Studying Hawai`i Creole English The Framework of This Study Tense Categories in Hawai`i Creole English Aspectual Categories in Hawai`i Creole English Modality in Hawai`i Creole English The Basic TMA System in Hawai`i Creole English Appendix 1: Texts Appendix 2: Verbs Occurring with wen: Types and Tokens Bibliography General Index Example Index Informant Index